Just because your yard is green in color doesn't mean it's environmentally friendly. A little "greenscaping" can help you conserve.

Related

So you've changed your light bulbs, installed a programmable thermostat, and bought energy-efficient appliances. Kudos to you for making some environmentally-friendly changes around your home!

But if you want to truly have a green home, you can't forget about your yard. Green landscaping, or greenscaping, uses techniques that conserve energy, limit pesticide use, and reduce waste. So get growing on your environmentally-friendly yard with these tips.

Environmentally-Friendly Landscaping

Greenscaping benefits the environment, your lawn, and your wallet by:

Conserving water

Minimizing pesticide use

Using lower-maintenance plants that require less upkeep

Recycling yard waste

Using greenscaping techniques as part of a green home means using the most appropriate plants for your climate and geographic area and on reusing waste products to fertilize soil. Here are some tips to help you begin creating your environmentally-friendly yard:

Start composting. Composting allows you to put food scraps and yard waste to work. Fruit and vegetable waste as well as coffee grounds can be combined with dead leaves, grass trimmings, and other environmentally-friendly organic waste products to create a rich fertilizer for your plants. To avoid unwanted pests in your compost pile, don't use dairy, fish, or meat in your compost.

Mulch. Mulch can help protect your plants and soil, maintain soil moisture, and reduce weed growth. You can buy packaged mulch or use your own compost or grass trimmings. To allow plant roots to breath, just be sure not to pile mulch more than three inches high around your plants or within one inch of tree trunks or plant stems.

Choose pest-resistant plants. To avoid having to use pesticides and other harmful chemicals on your lawn or garden, choose plants not based on their ability to resist insects and fungi.

Plan your landscaping based on your location. Before you get started, do a little research on which plants require lots of sun and which need shade, what kind of soil they need, and how much maintenance they require. Then choose plants that will grow best in your particular environment.

Choose hardy, drought-resistant plants. Certain plants are thirstier than others, so to conserve water, choose those that don't require heavy watering; planting in shady areas will also help minimize water consumption.

Collect rain for watering. To further reduce water use, collect rainwater in special barrels or containers and use it to water your plants.

Stay on top of weeds. Pull weeds frequently to keep plants healthy and reduce pests.

Grow native plants, or plants that thrive in your local environment. These will require less maintenance on your part, will adapt more easily to the soil and weather changes, and have a greater likelihood to live longer.

Mow and grow. Don't cut grass too short, but mow frequently. Instead of collecting clippings, leave them on the grass to help fertilize your lawn.

Try natural fertilizers. Use natural, organic fertilizers, which tend to last longer than chemical-based products anyhow.

Lawn Renovations

If your lawn is prone to weeds or requires too much water to stay lush and green, it may be time to think about revamping your lawn. By replacing parts of your lawn with hardy plants that use less water, you'll conserve water while still maintaining an attractive yard. You can also seed patchy areas of the lawn with drought-resistant grass seed that requires less water.

Hiring a Greenscaping Professional

Landscaping can be difficult work and even though the rewards are worth the effort, sometimes it pays to hire a green expert. To make sure the job is done right — and as green as possible — remember to ask each landscaping company you’re considering if they use environmentally-friendly techniques and products.

Inquire specifically about their use of pest- and drought-resistant, lower-maintenance plants. Find out if they use organic fertilizers and other products, and what their stance is on pesticide use. Once you find a company you're comfortable with, sit back, relax, and watch your lawn grow in a truly green fashion.

This site complies with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information: verify here.

Advertising Notice

This Site and third parties who place advertisements on this Site may collect and use information about
your visits to this Site and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of
interest to you. If you would like to obtain more information about these advertising practices and to make
choices about online behavioral advertising, please click here.